


Laketown Outing

by bilboswaggins



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 19:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3422318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bilboswaggins/pseuds/bilboswaggins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mini-fic, inspired by the idea of 'what if Bilbo took Thorin out of Erebor after the Battle of Five Armies for some well-earned relaxation.' A short, fluffy, first real date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Laketown Outing

Bilbo hadn’t seen much of Thorin the last week or so. The new King had been noticeably absent, apparently being officially crowned means ceremonies and forming groups and talking about ways to successfully get the forges up and running as quickly as possible. Not that Bilbo minded. He understood this was all part of the world he knew nothing about, and now was hardly the time to try and get acquainted with it. Rather, he let his friends deal with their problems and internal Dwarven issues on their own, keeping to himself. The balcony down the hall from the room he was staying in over looked the new Dale, and he frequently spent his time watching the tiny Laketown residents rebuilding with the Elves of Mirkwood, hauling out the dead and beautifying the space once more. It would be to some form of livability in no time, and the people would have no worry of the winter’s hardship this year. 

It was calming to watch this, but also lonely. He didn’t want to venture far from his room, and on the occasions he did, all the Dwarves seemed far too preoccupied to take much notice of him. The help he offered was waved away, and even once or twice met with an ‘oh, you’re still here?’ So he stayed to less travelled paths, being nearly silent, taking the time to admire the enormous structures and beautiful intricacies that he had missed while skulking around and hiding from a dragon, or trying to rescue the king from his sickness, or preparing for a ridiculous war. The Dwarves were very meticulous in their decorative structures, impressing the little hobbit that such a gruff people could make things so beautiful.

Although, gruff and beautiful was not a bad combination. 

Though he wouldn’t speak of it out loud, he missed Thorin. He had been debating going to find him for some time to force him to relax a little, and it was only mid-smoke through his pipe (and Gandalf had provided him with some truly lovely tobacco as he had long since run out) that he decided to go through with it. Silently moving so as not to disturb anyone, the little Hobbit found his way around the massive corridors of Erebor, looking and listening for a tip as to where the King might be sequestered. It didn’t take long, loud, low voices were easy to hear in large, echoing stone rooms. Bilbo waited outside, smoking away and blowing little rings (it already smelled of burning coal and smoke, what damage could his little pipe do indoors, anyway?). 

Not long after his encampment outside the door did it open, a worried looking Balin stepping out. “Oh, Bilbo. Hello my lad – I’m sorry I haven’t seen very much of you lately. Have you been holding up all right?” he asked distractedly, a hand pulling at the ends of his beard. 

“Quite well, Balin, quite well,” Bilbo smiled, nodding his head lightly in recognition. “Go on about your work, I wouldn’t want to keep you. Though don’t work too hard, if you can sneak away for tea sometime soon I’d be happy to have you, I’m rather curious as to what you all have gotten done around here. No one seems to have the time to tell me anything.”

“Oh, well, you know how rebuilding a kingdom goes,” the old dwarf laughed lightly, his face lightening at Bilbo’s offer. “I’ll accept your offer soon as I’m able. And oh, uh,” he frowned, leaning in and lowering his voice. “If you’re going in to speak with him, I’d advise you keep it light. He’s a tad bit on edge as of late, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

Bilbo smiled, and just waved his pipe noncommittally. “Of course, better than most what he had to deal with after the Dragon, and I can’t imagine what it’s like now. I’ll be gentle with him, I give my word,” he lightly laughed and Balin nodded his head. They said their goodbyes, and Bilbo blew a last light smoke ring lazily in the air as the dwarf disappeared down the hall, before entering the King’s study.

He was hunched over the desk, peppered in paper and quills and ink wells, holding his head in his large hands. He looked exhausted and drained. Bilbo couldn’t help but feel sympathetic; it had only been a matter of days of normalcy, but he looked like he had been doing this for months. Though, as the bandages painfully reminded him, he was probably going through a lot more than Bilbo could fathom at once.  
“Knock, knock,” he smiled, standing in the doorway. The dwarf looked up at him with tired eyes that seemed to gain a bit of life in them when he recognized who it was.

“Ah, Master Baggins,” Thorin lightly smiled, sitting up correctly in his seat with a slight wince, a hand going to his abdomen clearly habitually. “Please come in, I’ve been meaning to come find you. I apologize that I haven’t yet, but…” he trailed off, somewhat guiltily.

Bilbo only smiled more. “Oh, I understand, believe me. I wouldn’t want to disturb you. So are you ah, walking alright? Any problems there?” he asked, though not accepting the offer of stepping further into the room.

Thorin shrugged. “Well. It’s not a treat, but I can get by.”

“Excellent. You know, all that work can’t be good for your health, especially… you know,” he stopped himself from mentioning the events of the Battle, it just wasn’t time yet. “And I hear walking can do you well. Especially if it’s outside in the fresh air,” he hinted, puffing a bit on his pipe.

The dwarf hummed thoughtfully, as though weighing his options, but it didn’t take long for him to accept the offer, pushing his chair away from the desk and standing, if somewhat wobbily. Bilbo knew better than to offer his assistance, and merely waited for the new King to make his way over to him. He stepped aside to allow him to go first, and Bilbo strode slightly behind him, happy to just be by him after the days apart.  
Their walk was silent until they reached the front gates and stepped into the sunlight. It must have been mid-morning, when the sun was thankfully still gathering its strength. Thorin stopped not far outside the gates, but Bilbo kept going, happily blowing smoke rings in the direction of the few thrushes nearby. 

“Where had you intended on taking me, Master Baggins?” Thorin asked curiously, clearly having thought their stroll would be limited to the reaches of Erebor.

“You’ll see, but I can assure you, your mood will greatly thank me,” the hobbit grinned back, walking down the road backwards, waiting to hear the thud of heavy footsteps to slow down and let the other catch him. 

The walk through the rugged land and rock was not fun itself, but with good company and a nice day, the best can be made of anything, Bilbo had always thought. (He just wished he had brought some sort of food with him; they would be getting hungry in a few hours…) Thorin seemed to be in thought much of the walk, but Bilbo said nothing of it. It must be distressing to be out here once again, but the body clean up was mostly completed, and the Battle was just a memory. A memory Bilbo was hoping to help fade.

The lake stretched on ahead of them, light dancing on the surface of the water happily, sparkling and beckoning them to come nearer. Not far from where they stood, a boat was pulled ashore, ores safely inside. Thorin raised an eyebrow and Bilbo grinned. “I thought you could use some relaxation. You haven’t had much in, oh, a year and a half now? Nearly two? My it’s easy to lose track.” 

The dwarf’s expression was unreadable for several moments, until a light smile and laugh broke through the stony face. “I suppose that would be a decent idea. Especially as this lake visit will involve far less fish on my head,” he chuckled, unfastening his fur cape to leave on the shore.

After some playful bickering about who would be the one to push the boat into the water, (“I am much too heavy for you, we’ll be stuck here all day.” “You forget I am not all what I appear? You sit in that boat this instant, you’ll hurt yourself,”) Bilbo shoved them offshore and onto the lake they went. More silence followed as the hobbit rowed them out onto the calm water, but a very pleasant kind. Thorin had his head tilted back and was letting the sun hit his face, breathing deeply and serenely.

They stayed out on that lake for two hours or more, Bilbo lost track of the time rather easily. Their conversations were about absolutely nothing, and to both of them, it was so, so important.

“I am as appreciative as the next hobbit for the work that Bombur put in to our journey, but if I had to have one more stew concoction or hunk of staling bread for my meal for the day, I might’ve lost my mind.”  
“Ha ha, my dear Burglar, what makes you think that cooking was because of our journey? That’s simply how he makes food. The rest of us just aren’t any better!”

“For goodness sake. Right, I am getting access to a proper kitchen and making cakes for tea and proper stew effective immediately. Save your arguments, you have no say in the matter. You are going to eat a Baggins specialty cake and you will like it. … Actually, you had one at the unexpected party of mine, didn’t you?”

“I’m afraid not, I arrived so late I was surprised that any of those louts left even a bowl for me.”

“All the more reason. After this long on bread and honey and milk, you will promote me to chef immediately.”

“Is that a promise, Bilbo?” He had teased, grinning and tilting his head.

“I- … Yes. Yes it is,” he finished, thickly laying on his smugness.

Thorin had laughed, and lightly splashed the other, which led to both of them on the shore needing to lie in the sun for several minutes, laughing and wet.

The walk back was as quiet as the one there, words not needed for the contentedness they felt. It was only early afternoon when they returned to the gates, savouring the last rays of the sun and breath of fresh air before it was back to the coal and the dim. “May I walk you back to your room,” Thorin asked, turning to Bilbo who was smiling to himself as he admired the hall fondly.

“Of course,” he replied, starting them towards one of the large sets of stairs. “I may need you to, I might have forgotten by now,” he teased. “These stairs and passages do all look alike. I might end up in the armory and who knows what trouble I could get myself into.”

“Yes, and wander off with all my best letter openers,” Thorin grinned, snickering as Bilbo shot him a look.

They reached Bilbo’s room and stopped, Bilbo leaning on a wall. “This one is me. I think,” he peeked inside. “Yep, yep definitely me. Well, thank you for agreeing to come.”

“I needed to get away for a little bit, anyway,” he smiled, not moving to leave.

Bilbo’s mouth went a bit dry. “Well, I’ll be here should you need another distraction.”

“Distraction is a good choice of words,” Thorin’s smile grew. 

Bilbo was about to respond, when the dwarven King’s hand found his hair, tilting his head upward for a slightly scratchy kiss. They parted and Bilbo cleared his throat, stuttering once at the unexpected show of gentle affection.

Thorin only grinned, looking at him fondly. “Thank you, Master Burglar. I look forward to an outing with you again.” He bowed his head lightly, and strode away, rounding the corner before Bilbo could find his voice.

He blinked and rubbed his temple with the heel of his palm. … 

Maybe he should do this more often.


End file.
